Supermarkets to be charged for abandoned trolleys

Bolton Council has adopted powers to crackdown on abandoned trolleys

The "eyesore" of abandoned shopping trolleys is set to be tackled by charging supermarkets under new enforcement powers, a council has said.

Bolton Council has adopted national legislation that allows the authority to charge retailers for removing and storing deserted trolleys in the borough.

Garry Parker, an assistant director at the council, said the trollies had become a "blight on our landscape".

The new powers would allow the council to tackle the problem through "robust action", he added.

'Up a tree'

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, shopping trolleys can be removed and stored, and the council can charge the retailers for doing this.

Bolton Council has adopted the legislation meaning it can now charge supermarkets £5 per day for each trolley it recovers and puts into storage.

A charge of £50 for the initial collection by the council will also be payable, with a £100 fee required of retailers before the trolley can be returned.

The new powers come after the council held a pubic consultation where more than half of the respondents backed the idea,the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

One respondent said: “We find trolleys in green spaces in rivers, bushes and even up a tree.

Another who replied, said: “As litter pickers we encounter many abandoned shopping trolleys, children tend to use them to play with meaning that they drift around the place when they are not collected".

Many retailers are already signed up to a voluntary collection scheme where trolleys will be collected by specialised companies such as Trolleywise.

The council has advised the public to contact these services or the relevant supermarket directly if they see an abandoned trolley in the borough.